Imhotepthewise
Explorer
Moderators, please move this where appropriate.
Review of Star Trek: The Experience 07/12/04.
I have tried to keep this spoiler-free.
On Monday, July 5, 2004, my father, my son, and I went to Star Trek: The Experience at the Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada. My dad is 70, retired, and a resident of Las Vegas, with no particular signs of fanaticism over Star Trek. My son is 17 and interested in anything bright and shiny, also with no particular signs of fanaticism over Star Trek. Me, well, I’m 44, and there is no hope for me. I am a Trekker, died in the wool.
I made my last visit to Vegas in April 1997. The Experience was not yet open during that visit. I found out about it that summer I think, and vowed that I would see it if I returned to the City of Sin.
Once in their lifetime, all good Catholics should travel to Rome, all good Muslims should travel to Mecca, and all good Trekkers should travel to Las Vegas. I was absolutely thrilled.
The Experience is within the Hilton Hotel and Casino. We used valet parking, which I advise for every casino on the strip. It is cheap enough (tip only) and I had no bad experiences. Soon, the new monorail connecting the strip end to end will be in service, with the Hilton being one of its stops. It is pretty deep within, so pay attention to the signs.
The lobby of the Experience is rather dark. Looking up, you see some large starship models. There is a Borg rest chamber outside, and a Klingon mannequin in a glass case out front. We encountered a live Borg here, he passed us without noticing. Within is the ticket counter, where you pay the approx $30 fee. Both the Klingon and Borg experiences are both counted in the fee. Nevada residents get a discount (yea Dad! Saved $15 between the 3 of us) for all tickets they purchase.
Then you wander a twisted, rather dark ramp, with props and costumes on your right and an extensive illustrated timeline on your left. No hurry, browse at your leisure. We encountered our second alien, a chatty Ferengi. I could not take his picture, because it was so dark here. There are monitors here and there with movie and tv clips going.
Then you encounter Starfleet personnel who take digital pictures of you against a blue screen. You feel your wallet throb.
Then you have a choice to get your picture taken in the Captain’s Chair on the Bridge, which we did not do. I understand it’s about $15. After that, you choose to enter the Klingon or the Borg experience line. We chose Klingon first. The line hallway is filled with more props, costumes, illustrations, and monitors playing clips. The line was not too long that day, about a 20 minute wait for Klingon and 5 minutes for Borg.
Klingon Encounter. Hang onto your hats. Without giving too much away, live actors, set mockups, motion similators, clips from ST:TNG characters, etc give you a great show. I was grinning like a skunk. It was apparent, because my son made great fun of me.
At the conclusion, you were dumped in the back entrance of the gift shops and Quark’s Bar, the restaurant. They try to give you a free picture if you sign up for a ST Mastercard, or sell you a picture if you don’t. They took no thank you pretty well. We wandered the shops a little, examining $1300 phaser models and $2 keychains. We decided to come back after the Borg experience to spend some gold pressed latinum. I filled out a survey and got a free sticker (yeay! Free stuff!).
As stated above, the line for the Borg was shorter than the Klingon experience. Why it was, I do not know. Both have a running time of approximately 18 minutes.
The Borg Experience include more live actors, set mockups, ST:V character clips, etc. It is a 4-D experience, which I understand is becoming popular at amusement parks from sea to shining sea. If I sound disappointed, I’m not. I just really dig Klingons.
Then we went back to the shops and bought shirts, coffee cups, teddy bear for little sister, etc. There were some items discounted. We examined the menu at Quark’s Bar, which was pricey but not too bad for the strip. It was pretty packed, with people happily dining, so it must have been worth it. No serpent worms that we could see. Darn.
We encountered our wandering Borg again in the shop, who silently paused to allow us to photograph him. Then a tall Klingon strode boldly into the shop area, and did not envicerate me for asking for a photo op. He declared we could fire at will, and made fun of my son, who nervously fumbled with the camera. A little payback for teasing his father earlier.
Was it worth it? You bet. I had the best time. I hope you get the chance to go yourself someday.
Review of Star Trek: The Experience 07/12/04.
I have tried to keep this spoiler-free.
On Monday, July 5, 2004, my father, my son, and I went to Star Trek: The Experience at the Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada. My dad is 70, retired, and a resident of Las Vegas, with no particular signs of fanaticism over Star Trek. My son is 17 and interested in anything bright and shiny, also with no particular signs of fanaticism over Star Trek. Me, well, I’m 44, and there is no hope for me. I am a Trekker, died in the wool.
I made my last visit to Vegas in April 1997. The Experience was not yet open during that visit. I found out about it that summer I think, and vowed that I would see it if I returned to the City of Sin.
Once in their lifetime, all good Catholics should travel to Rome, all good Muslims should travel to Mecca, and all good Trekkers should travel to Las Vegas. I was absolutely thrilled.
The Experience is within the Hilton Hotel and Casino. We used valet parking, which I advise for every casino on the strip. It is cheap enough (tip only) and I had no bad experiences. Soon, the new monorail connecting the strip end to end will be in service, with the Hilton being one of its stops. It is pretty deep within, so pay attention to the signs.
The lobby of the Experience is rather dark. Looking up, you see some large starship models. There is a Borg rest chamber outside, and a Klingon mannequin in a glass case out front. We encountered a live Borg here, he passed us without noticing. Within is the ticket counter, where you pay the approx $30 fee. Both the Klingon and Borg experiences are both counted in the fee. Nevada residents get a discount (yea Dad! Saved $15 between the 3 of us) for all tickets they purchase.
Then you wander a twisted, rather dark ramp, with props and costumes on your right and an extensive illustrated timeline on your left. No hurry, browse at your leisure. We encountered our second alien, a chatty Ferengi. I could not take his picture, because it was so dark here. There are monitors here and there with movie and tv clips going.
Then you encounter Starfleet personnel who take digital pictures of you against a blue screen. You feel your wallet throb.
Then you have a choice to get your picture taken in the Captain’s Chair on the Bridge, which we did not do. I understand it’s about $15. After that, you choose to enter the Klingon or the Borg experience line. We chose Klingon first. The line hallway is filled with more props, costumes, illustrations, and monitors playing clips. The line was not too long that day, about a 20 minute wait for Klingon and 5 minutes for Borg.
Klingon Encounter. Hang onto your hats. Without giving too much away, live actors, set mockups, motion similators, clips from ST:TNG characters, etc give you a great show. I was grinning like a skunk. It was apparent, because my son made great fun of me.
At the conclusion, you were dumped in the back entrance of the gift shops and Quark’s Bar, the restaurant. They try to give you a free picture if you sign up for a ST Mastercard, or sell you a picture if you don’t. They took no thank you pretty well. We wandered the shops a little, examining $1300 phaser models and $2 keychains. We decided to come back after the Borg experience to spend some gold pressed latinum. I filled out a survey and got a free sticker (yeay! Free stuff!).
As stated above, the line for the Borg was shorter than the Klingon experience. Why it was, I do not know. Both have a running time of approximately 18 minutes.
The Borg Experience include more live actors, set mockups, ST:V character clips, etc. It is a 4-D experience, which I understand is becoming popular at amusement parks from sea to shining sea. If I sound disappointed, I’m not. I just really dig Klingons.
Then we went back to the shops and bought shirts, coffee cups, teddy bear for little sister, etc. There were some items discounted. We examined the menu at Quark’s Bar, which was pricey but not too bad for the strip. It was pretty packed, with people happily dining, so it must have been worth it. No serpent worms that we could see. Darn.
We encountered our wandering Borg again in the shop, who silently paused to allow us to photograph him. Then a tall Klingon strode boldly into the shop area, and did not envicerate me for asking for a photo op. He declared we could fire at will, and made fun of my son, who nervously fumbled with the camera. A little payback for teasing his father earlier.
Was it worth it? You bet. I had the best time. I hope you get the chance to go yourself someday.
